Superior Court halts trial in Hamilton, faulting Crown’s failure to disclose DNA and cellphone data—an “extremely rare” judicial stay ends prosecution.
Critical judicial intervention in Ontario courtroom
In an unusually forceful ruling, Justice Giulia Gambacorta of the Ontario Superior Court issued a judicial stay on Sept. 22, halting the murder trial of Salomon Bashir in Hamilton. The decision ends the Crown prosecution of Bashir on charges of second-degree murder, citing prosecutorial failures that compromised his right to a fair trial.
Prosecution’s missteps prompt radical response
During a jury trial that began last month, Gambacorta found Crown attorneys Michael Dean and Steve Kim — alongside Hamilton police — had “approached the prosecution with apathy and a continued negligence,” undermining the integrity of proceedings. Among key errors, she flagged the Crown’s failure to timely disclose vital DNA evidence and cellphone tower mapping data, depriving the defence time to prepare a response.
DNA evidence withheld until mid-trial
Bashir was arrested in summer 2023 over the Dec. 2022 shooting death of 23-year-old Everton Frost. In January 2024, police received a DNA “hit notification” for material found on a surgical mask at the crime scene, matching a relative of the victim. Although police were aware of the match, they failed to alert the Crown until April 8—and the defence only received the evidence on the second day of trial. Justice Gambacorta found no explanation in the record for that delay.
Cell tower data revealed too late
The Crown also intended to call three expert witnesses to explain cellphone tower data tying Bashir to the area at the time of the shooting. But it notified the defence of its experts only on the eve of trial and only began acquiring the actual mapping evidence after trial had already started, Gambacorta said—further denying adequate preparation time.
Why a stay and not a mistrial?
The Crown argued that the errors were inadvertent and could be addressed in a new trial via a mistrial. However, Gambacorta determined the conduct reached the threshold for judicial stay—a remedy reserved for only the clearest cases of abuse of process. She also noted Bashir had been in custody for more than 26 months; delaying a new trial to 2026 would breach his rights to timely justice.
Defence voices concern, public integrity at stake
In statements, defence lawyers Laura Giordano and Ian McCuaig lamented the “apparent lack of interest” by the Crown in the case, especially given the severity of the charge. They argued Bashir and “society” were both deprived of the trial he deserved, but the judge’s decision was necessary to preserve public confidence in Canada’s justice system.
As of now, the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General has offered no public response regarding corrective action within Crown counsel offices to prevent similar breakdowns in disclosure and prosecutorial duty.
